Acclimatization of Wooden Flooring

If you’re selecting new Engineered Wood Flooring for your next hospitality project, you’ve likely to have visualizedwhat it will look like after installation. Installing Engineered Wooden floors is a thrilling project. Wooden Flooring brings beauty and sophistication to virtually any room, is relatively easy to care for and will last for many years when properly maintained.

Every building has its own natural humidity levee. This will most likely be different to the environment where the Flooring has been stored whilst awaiting installation.

Factors including temperature or moisture affect the relative humidity of the interior of any space. Changes in these can affect your floor causing it to contract or expand. This change, while unnoticeable to the naked eye on a single plank or tile, can make a vivid difference on an overall floor once fitted, leading to gaps buckling, warping or even cupping.

It is very important to acclimatize your new wooden flooring to the new environment of the interior space it is going to be installed in. This is extremely easy to do. Simply leave your new flooring in the boxes it has arrived in the room you intend to be fit for the minimum number of days recommended in the chart below.

What is Acclimatization?

Acclimatization describes the process of conditioning hardwood floor planks, so that their moisture content is at the optimal level for the environment it is to be installed in. For most wood flooring, the wood floor must be within 4% of the moisture content of the subfloor. For solid wood flooring with planks wider than 3 inches, the flooring should be within 2% of the subfloor.

To avoid the distortion of shape and dimension that can eventually lead to structural damage; consider the following tips for acclimatizing hardwood flooring like a pro:

• • Know the type of wood flooring you’re working with before it arrives and how long it takes to acclimatize under normal circumstances. Some species of wood can lose and gain moisture faster than others. Factor in if it’s an exotic species being shipped from a tropical climate. Taking these steps will help keep your projects moving according to schedule without waiting for the wood to reach the right moisture level.
  • Use a chart from a reliable source to calculate acclimatization requirements. It will help you accurately determine the equilibrium climate by average humidity levels and temperature range. Be sure to account for how regional humidity in your area varies from season to season.
  • Always acclimatize hardwood flooring in a controlled environment. This step may require some pre-planning to ensure you have enough indoor storage space. Never attempt to condition wood planks outside or in a garage or basement where the humidity and temperature vary greatly throughout the day — and don’t simulate conditions inside your home.
  • Use a moisture meter to get an accurate reading of the interior environment. The wood should be checked upon arrival for moisture content to determine how much acclimatization is necessary. Always check multiple boards as moisture levels can waver from plank to plank.
  • Don’t store floorboards for acclimatization inside its packaging or stack them on top of one another in tall piles. Best practice is to arrange boards in staggered layers so that the surface of the wood is equally exposed on all sides.